Peasant loaf?

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mcs on 12 Jul 2008 at 10:39

Hey there everybody,
So I'm courting some new business even though we're not quite open yet, and one of the prospectives is a wine and cheese/gourmet shop. The owner was describing something he desired for the shop in addition to some of the stuff I already offer. Anyway, I said, "Like a peasant loaf?" and he said, "Exactly." I asked him what ingredients he specifically was looking for and he said, "Kalamata olives, and possibly rosemary."
So, does anybody have a kick butt recipe for a loaf that has at least olives in it? Thanks.
For those interested, I'll be posting pix soon of the finished bakery!

-Mark

thebackhomebakery.com

Profile picture for user mcs

mcs on 12 Jul 2008 at 13:08

PMcCool,
Thanks.  On a less kind forum, someone's reply would've simply been:

'search function'

But anyway, Bill's olive bread looks great and so does the one by paddyscake.  I'm going to take a more in depth look at them both.

 

http://thebackhomebakery.com

Hi Mark,

Glad all is going well with your bakery. I've made a couple of olive loaves, one kalamatas alone and one with kalamatas and feta. They were both good. I'm sure if you used your sourdough, a ciabatta or foccacia as a base they'd all be great. I really can see a foccacia with assorted greek olives and thyme or maybe basil. Let us know what you create..can't wait to see!

Betty

 

 

My wife is a big feta fan and so may try that combo too.  I have a deadline for at least a trial version in about 10 days, so I'll concoct something by then-and post it if it's not too hideous.

-Mark 

http://thebackhomebakery.com

You craft great loaves of bread! I happen to notice someone posted an olive loaf linked to Julia Childs Master Chef series videos. It was Nancy Silverton using a food processor of all things! Kalamatas & oiled cured, mixed in the processor. The loaf looked great, nice big chunks of olives evenly distributed. No formula, but technique is interesting. I wouldn't have thought the olives would've keep their integrity.

http://www.pbs.org/juliachild/meet/silverton.html

Betty

If the only compliment my wife can come up with for the bread is, "Well, it's got great FLAVOR..."
Then it very quickly ends up being a projectile destined for the great outdoors.
Let me put it this way, the dough at the beginning of my 'baking bread video' aint the same dough as the end. Hmmm.

http://thebackhomebakery.com

Mark, what about this loaf from Dan Lepard's The Art of the Handmade bread? He calls for picholine olives which I have only found once here in the boonies, but I have made it with kalamata olives and it was really good. Makes a flattish loaf - you have to dimple it and I found it very "billowy" dough. Good luck with your opening! A.

Okeydokey! First I have to give credit to Dan Lepard - I LOVE his book and think everybody should have a copy, and I hope he won't mind me sharing.

350g bread flour

1 tspn fine sea salt

150g water at 68*

150g white leaven

1/2 tspn fresh yeast

25g extra virgin olive oil

100g pitted olives (picholine if available)

1 tspn chopped fresh thyme

cornmeal for dusting

Mix and autolyze for 10 minutes, then follow Dan's directions to knead on a lightly oiled surface for 10 seconds. return to bowl to rest for 10 minutes. Repeat 3 times. Then he uses a well oiled tray to stretch and fold 3 times with an hour between each one. The dough should never be warmer than 70*-77*. Oil a 12"x8" baking sheet and sprinkle lightly with cornmeal. Flip the dough onto the center of the sheet and dimple the surface to slightly flatten it. Sprinkle the surface of the dough with cornmeal, cover with a cloth and leave in a warm place for 30-45 minutes. Preheat to 425*, bake on center shelf for 40 minutes until good golden brown. Use a spatula to ease the bread from the sheet, cool on rack.

 

Hope you try it, A.

 

 

 

 

 

Silly me! I can imagine you gently stretching and folding when you are running a bakery and have to bake large amounts of bread! Maybe some of the other members will try Dan's method - and you are free to adapt. I'll be anxiously waiting to hear whether you tried it, A.

I often take a basic, lean white sourdough recipe, and before the first rise, mix in some olive oil (about 2-3 tbsp, per loaf), along with cut-up kalamatas and chopped, fresh rosemary (stems removed). This will give you a great crust with the chewiness of a good sourdough, but the oil adds some richness and softens the interior texture perfectly for the olives.

Boron

Lean doughs are those with no fats. If I am making an loaf with olives and rosemary, I want to tenderize the crumb a bit with some fat, and so add olive oil.

Boron

Mark,

I have a Kalmata Olive/Pepper Jack cheese sourdough that I use quite often.

 

If you would like me to email it to you, let me know.

Bob

oldcampcookat yahoo.com

Mark, wish I was in Montana to try some of your bread.

I use my usual white sourdough with green olives, roasted red capsicum and a tiny bit of rosemary. The colour contrast is great. Don't make the dough too wet if the olives and capsicum are a bit gooey.

Liz

Mark, I don't know if this helps. I hope you find the following of some use.  Details are scant because it was very much a spur of the moment endeavour. For what it's worth, I think the 'complex' aroma and taste of sourdough lend themselves perfectly to olive bread.

The recipe (for one loaf) was something along the lines of: 

300-350g AP flour (substitute with bread flour for 'uberchew'!) 

150-200g mixture of whole spelt and whole rye (roughly equal?)

10gish of salt

A good glug of olive oil (say 3 tbsp?)

A good handful of olives (cut into thirds mostly) - I'd have used kalamatas if I had them.

200g white sourdough starter (100% hydration)

about 300g water (to make up a moderately slack dough)

After mixing and autolyse (minus the olives) I did a few minutes of french fold.  Reaching medium gluten development, I gently incorporated the olives..  The bulk ferment lasted about 4 hours in a warm kitchen (stretching and folding three times at 40 minute intervals) at 75-80F followed by a 1 hour proof after shaping.

The dough was fairly slack (once olives are incorporated) so handling required a bit of care during shaping.

I baked at 450F with steam for 10 minutes followed by another 35 minutes at 375F 

The loaf was mildly sour and had an chewy but open texture.  I can't think of anything I'd really change except changing the type of olive or possibly adding some herbs (rosemary and thyme come to mind...although really the bread didn't need it). As for pairing with cheese, I've only had a sharp cheddar to accompany it (just finished a large wedge a few minutes ago)...oh yes it's def. a good combo

 

Look forward to hearing what form your peasant bread eventually takes.

Cheers 

FP 

 

Wow, thanks a lot everybody for all of the great suggestions.  I'm not sure exactly what form it'll take, as foolishpoolish says, but I'll let you know how it turns out.  Very informative.

-Mark 

http://thebackhomebakery.com